LinkedIn Workforce Report | United States | April 2025
With over 225 million LinkedIn members in the United States, we have unique insight into the real-time dynamics of Americans starting new jobs and moving to new cities. This month’s LinkedIn Workforce Report looks at our latest national data on hiring and migration trends through March 2025.
For more insight into localized employment trends in 20 of the largest U.S. metro areas, check out this month’s reports for: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland-Akron, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.
Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. Whether you’re a worker, an employer, a new grad, or a policymaker, we hope you’ll use these insights to better understand and navigate the dynamics of today’s economy.
Key Insights:
Hiring shows early signs of economic headwinds: Nationally, across all industries, hiring slowed 5.8% from February to March, slowing 6.4% compared to March 2024. This month reverses the trend towards stabilization that has taken place so far this year. While one month of data isn’t enough to signify an ongoing shift in trends, it could be an early indicator of more slowing to come.
Broad industry hiring slowdown in March: Hiring slowed in 18 out 20 industries from February to March. The industries where hiring accelerated month-over-month were Holding Companies (+5.9%) and Utilities (+0.4%). Hiring slowed the most in Education (-8.6%), Accommodation and Food Services (-10.2%), and Farming, Ranching, Forestry (-12.0%). However, hiring was up in March 2025 compared to March 2024 in Financial Services (+3.0%) and only down slightly in Technology, Information and Media (-1.4%). Government Administration continues to see hiring slow the most compared to last year with hiring down -17.3% year-over-year, second worst only to Farming, Ranching, Forestry.
- Hiring gains split across major metros: Hiring accelerated in 6 out of 20 metro areas we track from February to March. We saw the greatest hiring gains in Miami-Fort Lauderdale (+4.8%), St. Louis (+4.2%), and Denver (+1.9%). Hiring slowed the most in Houston (-16.2%), Austin (-18.4%), and Boston (-20.4%). Compared to March 2024, hiring was again up in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (+7.3%) and slightly down in the San Francisco Bay Area (-0.5%). The sunbelt continues to see the most robust hiring with hiring still up or near pre-pandemic levels in Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Phoenix.
Hiring
The LinkedIn hiring rate is a measure of hires divided by LinkedIn membership. Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 5.8% lower in March 2025 compared to last month February 2025. National hiring was 6.4% lower in March 2025 compared to last year March 2024.
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED HIRING
The industries with the most notable hiring shifts month-to-month in March 2025 were Holding Companies (5.9% higher); Utilities (0.4% higher); and Oil, Gas, and Mining (1.2% lower).
Table 1: Hiring on LinkedIn, by Industry, through March 2025
Industry | Mar-24 | ··· | Dec-24 | Jan-25 | Feb-25 | Mar-25 | MoM% Change | YoY% Change |
Accommodation and Food Services | 0.95 | ··· | 0.96 | 0.94 | 0.97 | 0.87 | -10.2 | -7.8 |
Administrative and Support Services | 0.88 | ··· | 0.90 | 0.80 | 0.85 | 0.81 | -5.3 | -8.3 |
Construction | 1.23 | ··· | 1.20 | 1.20 | 1.19 | 1.13 | -4.5 | -7.9 |
Consumer Services | 1.16 | ··· | 1.14 | 1.13 | 1.15 | 1.12 | -2.9 | -3.7 |
Education | 1.12 | ··· | 1.14 | 1.13 | 1.16 | 1.07 | -8.6 | -5.2 |
Entertainment Providers | 0.93 | ··· | 0.88 | 0.85 | 0.88 | 0.87 | -1.8 | -7.2 |
Farming, Ranching, Forestry | 1.13 | ··· | 0.92 | 0.96 | 1.02 | 0.90 | -12 | -20.8 |
Financial Services | 0.97 | ··· | 1.02 | 1.01 | 1.02 | 1.00 | -2 | +3 |
Government Administration | 1.13 | ··· | 1.05 | 1.07 | 1.00 | 0.93 | -6.6 | -17.3 |
Holding Companies | 0.75 | ··· | 0.74 | 0.73 | 0.66 | 0.69 | +5.9 | -7.7 |
Hospitals and Health Care | 1.14 | ··· | 1.09 | 1.09 | 1.09 | 1.05 | -3.5 | -7.9 |
Manufacturing | 0.91 | ··· | 0.86 | 0.84 | 0.84 | 0.81 | -3.2 | -10.3 |
Oil, Gas, and Mining | 0.89 | ··· | 0.85 | 0.80 | 0.85 | 0.84 | -1.2 | -5.7 |
Professional Services | 0.89 | ··· | 0.89 | 0.87 | 0.88 | 0.83 | -5.9 | -6.6 |
Real Estate and Equipment Rental Services | 0.97 | ··· | 0.98 | 0.86 | 0.90 | 0.87 | -2.6 | -9.6 |
Retail | 0.83 | ··· | 0.83 | 0.82 | 0.84 | 0.77 | -8.3 | -6.6 |
Technology, Information and Media | 0.85 | ··· | 0.92 | 0.85 | 0.88 | 0.84 | -5.4 | -1.4 |
Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage | 1.04 | ··· | 1.03 | 0.98 | 1.03 | 0.97 | -5.9 | -7.5 |
Utilities | 1.28 | ··· | 1.14 | 1.12 | 1.09 | 1.09 | +0.4 | -14.8 |
Wholesale | 0.88 | ··· | 0.89 | 0.72 | 0.84 | 0.77 | -8.2 | -12.2 |
Methodology: “Hiring Rate” is the count of hires (LinkedIn members in each industry who added a new employer to their profile in the same month the new job began), divided by the total number of LinkedIn members in the U.S. By only analyzing the timeliest data, we can make accurate month-to-month comparisons and account for any potential lags in members updating their profiles. This number is indexed to the average month in 2016 for each industry; for example, an index of 1.05 indicates a hiring rate that is 5% higher than the average month in 2016.
Check out our reports for Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland-Akron, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. to see which jobs are open.
